Some of the biggest buzz on the red carpet at the Critics Choice Awards last Sunday was generated not by an outfit, but by the 25-year-old actress Odessa A’zion’s admission that her hair at the Los Angeles premiere of “Marty Supreme” was a wig.
Ms. A’zion’s revelation, in an interview with Deadline Hollywood, made headlines in outlets like Vogue and The Cut, partly for the way it lifted the veil on a practice that has long shaped red-carpet beauty, but is rarely discussed publicly.
That is a familiar reality for wig-makers like Helena Jhong, 55, who has not created styles for Ms. Ms. A’zion, but has been a source of wigs and extensions for other celebrities: Sydney Sweeney and Greta Lee among them.
Ms. Jhong, the owner of Helena Collection Wigs in Midtown Manhattan, is a 33-year veteran of the business. She said in an interview that many people had found her by word of mouth, and that her longtime customers include Chris Appleton, a hairstylist who has worked with Kim Kardashian, Jennifer Lopez and Ariana Grande.
Her custom wigs range from $2,500 to $15,000, prices on par with those charged by other makers in demand. Product costs depend on factors like length, labor and whether the hair being used is natural or synthetic.
Ms. Jhong, who has six employees, said that creating a personalized wig can typically take up to two weeks. But requests from Hollywood’s elite often come at the last minute, she added.
Despite having made wigs that have received wide exposure, Ms. Jhong’s name is not always credited by hairstylists or their celebrity clients. She recalled once receiving a call from a Hollywood agent asking her to take down an Instagram post she had shared featuring their client. The reluctance for some to speak about wigs, she said, is largely because the accessories by design are meant to go unnoticed.
Ms. Jhong’s career path was blazed by her father, who immigrated to the United States from South Korea in the 1970s and later started a company selling wigs and hair extensions wholesale. She joined the family business after studying accounting at the State University of New York at Albany.
While working for her father, she said, she began to experiment with making wigs in her spare time. Seeing promise in her early designs, he rented a storefront where she could make custom wigs for customers, she added. A few years later, she moved the business into its current location.
Ms. Jhong, who described herself as an introvert, at first found engaging with customers daunting. “This industry is not only the craftsmanship of the product itself, it’s that ability to deal with people, to figure out what their needs are,” she said.
A backbone of her business has been making wigs for people who have lost hair because of health problems. Some have come to her looking to achieve a new sense of self, she said, and others for a jolt of confidence. Over time, she has come to see customer consultations as therapy sessions.
“If they don’t feel confident in themselves and like the way they look, then it’s my job to help them feel better about themselves,” she said.
Yola Mzizi is a reporter for the Styles section and a member of the 2025-2026 Times Fellowship class, a program for journalists early in their careers.
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